Early Heart Beat?

[8WOOD]

I saw MD today for a FAA student medical flight certificate. The doctor mentioned that I had an early heartbeat...but that many people do, and that it would be of no concern whatsoever. This is the first time I've heard been told i have an early heartbeat, and I went through Meps with no problems.

Right now, I have a "Air Contract" with USMC and was wondering how this early heartbeat might be received at P-Cola flight physical? Will it cause me to be disqualified?

Thanks

(ps searched the forums before i made this)

 

[das]

Disclaimer: I am not a physician.

"Early heart beat" usually means something called "Premature Ventricular Contractions" (PVCs), and they are indeed common. Ask your doc what he meant when he said "early heart beat".

IF your doc meant PVCs when he said you have "early heart beats", here is some information:

From another forum member:

I was told told there was an issue with my heart and I had to have a big, long work-up. It turned out it was pre-ventricular contractions (PVCs) and I got a waiver for it. since then I've found out that it's no big deal, just an irregular heartbeat.

From the NAMI Waiver Guide - Cardiology:

See: 3.7 ARRHYTHMIAS (PAC/PVC/OTHER)

A search for "heart murmur" on the forums yields many heart-issue-related threads.

The only person who can answer this for you definitively would be a NAMI physician. You could also see a private cardiologist on your own if you wanted to investigate this more.

Again, I'm not a physician...just trying to provide some information which might be helpful.

 

[feddoc]

PVCs in a person of your age are not normally a problem

Do you have any other symptoms?......chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue? Too much stress, caffiene can cause it...do you smoke?

Did the doc refer you to a cardiologist?

Did the doc specifically mention PVCs? Or PACs?

PACs can also cause early heartbeats...betcha das didn't figure that one out.

 

[HAL Pilot]

Everything about everything.....

 

[8WOOD]

Thanks for all your help so far. Nah the doctor was in a hurry--so i did not get much out of him. I have never smoked, I have not had any caffeine beverages in almost 4 years. I scored the full points on the Marine PFT--so if that's fit. Sounds to me like it really is not a big deal--just got a little worried.

Can certain ammino acids in proteins cause this?

I suppose if they say i can't fly, I'll try for infantry.

 

[picklesuit]

I had something like this pop on my ECG (EKG?)on my NAMI physical...somthing where one of the four beats of the heart was late...no biggy, I didn't even need a waiver...

 

[8WOOD]

Ok so I did some research (wikipedia ) and found that people with
Athletic heart syndrome


wow big text there.... \\ often have "sinus bradycardia, a resting heart rate of fewer than 60 beats per minute. This is often accompanied by sinus arrhythmia," which is having a irregular heartbeat. "The heartbeat of a person with AHS can sometimes be irregular while at rest, but usually returns to normal after exercise begins." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlete's_heart)

I have worked out for almost 1-2 hours everyday for the past two years. My standing heartrate is about 50 BPM.... so go figure.

 

[feddoc]

FWIW, aerobic stuff tends to enlarge the left ventricle while anaerobic stuff tends to thicken the wall of the left ventricle. No matter, as your heart becomes more effecient either way via increased ejection fraction. It's all about keeping the heart rate up.